Change bank? Child’s play if you are an individual. But for professionals, it’s a different story. Why is corporate banking mobility at a standstill? MoneyVox answers you.
The French rarely change banks. In 2020, only 4.7% of them dared to leave their banker, against 5.5% the previous year, according to a study by Bain & Company. However, since February 6, 2017, banks have been required to offer their individual customers a banking mobility assistance service.
This system, provided for by law for growth, activity and equal economic opportunities, aims to facilitate procedures for individuals wishing to change banks. A simple signature, and your new bank takes care of contacting the accounts that transfer or withdraw money from your regular odds account.
Not so for professionals. Article L312-1-7 of the Monetary and Financial Code is very clear on this point: the banking mobility assistance service applies to accounts (…) opened with all payment service providers and by natural persons not acting for professional purposes.
Professionals: cheapest online deals for limit your bank charges
Very expensive bank charges
The professionals would however have everything to gain if they could play more competition between the banks. Whether to take advantage of services better suited to their business, whose banking needs may change over time, or simply to save money.
Because bank charges represent on average 0.69% of professional turnover, according to a report by the Business Finance Observatory (OFE). Does this figure seem low to you? However, there is nothing unusual about it. A professional pays on average 1700 euros of bank charges per year. That is 10 times more than an individual.
Behind this figure lie significant disparities. I have a pro account at Socit Gnrale, which I pay 225 euros instead of 513 euros. But it’s still too expensive for the few services I use, says Aptenodytes on the MoneyVox forum. By comparing, I have quotes ranging from 28euros 50euros per month for the same service in other banks.
Among the oft-cited irritants: the infamous movement commissions. However, this tariff line is not the only one that makes professionals cringe. There are commissions on just about everything. The CIC charges the internet transfer 20 cents! A very small sum, of course, but which shows the logic of applying fees to the pros as soon as possible, says Tomas466, another contributor to the forum.
Our comparison of online banks for professionals
Mobility at a standstill
However, even in the face of prohibitive fees, or when they are dissatisfied with their bank, many professionals are opting for the status quo, for lack of a suitable banking mobility system. Professionals do not have the luxury of being able to change banks easily, explains Bndicte Caron, vice-president in charge of economic affairs at the Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME). You have to manually notify all customers, suppliers, state services… It takes a lot of time, she continues.
Especially since in the event of an error, the note may turn out to be dirty. Professionals can’t afford to have a declined payment or their old bank account is credited instead of the new one, notes Germain Michou-Tonning, director of partnerships at Qonto, a financial management solution for professionals. For economic reasons, of course, but also to preserve their image vis–vis their customers and suppliers.
Not to mention that in the event of a rejected check or debit from the old account, the bank will charge incident fees. Unlike individuals, these costs are not capped by professionals. Their amount amounted to an average of 19.30 euros per month, according to the OFE report.
Pro account: should bank charges be capped for professionals?
The resistance is organized
So are professionals doomed to stay with the same bank all their lives, as individuals were still a few years ago? Not necessarily. Because faced with the silence of the legislator, resistance is organized. Several banks have decided to create a banking mobility assistance system to support their professional customers. This is for example the case of Qonto, which today has more than 300,000 customers in Europe. This pro online bank has come up with an account transfer assistance service, compatible with 165 banks in France.
We securely analyze the transactions of the old bank account using an aggregator, in order to identify all the transactions that require formalities, explains Germain Michou-Tonning. These procedures consist, for example, contact a customer to send him his new RIB, modify credit card detailschange a direct debit, or inform the tax office.
In the absence of a bank mobility mandate authorizing the bank to take the lead, as is the case for individual customers, the transfer is not automatic. Qonto simply provides the customer with a complete list of tasks to be performed, which he can check off as he progresses in his migration. We plan to further enrich this system, by adding a monitoring service on the old account, to ensure that nothing has been forgotten, adds Germain Michou-Tonning.
Other banks have also taken the initiative to set up a mobility assistance service for their professional customers. This is particularly the case with the Caisse d’Epargne or the CIC, which offers 100% support for the procedures necessary to transfer your business accounts with its Easy Pros Transfer service. Something to relieve professionals looking for a new bank, while waiting for the practice to become more democratic.
Pro account: are the banks dropped?